Sometimes you just feel like chilling out, talking over coffee. Irish coffee is something my SO really felt like having the other night and he got it from Petruss, right across ELJ Building. It’s been a long day. The coffee was a delight, as he said. Even the presentation is delightful. The coffee prices in Petruss are fairly ok, cheaper than Starbucks. The ambiance is pretty ok too and it’s more than a coffee shop - they have pasta too!
On August 21, 1983, after his plane touched down at then “Manila International Airport”, Benigno Aquino Jr. was assassinated on the airport’s tarmac. His assassination ultimately started the turn of events leading to the EDSA revolution on February 25, 1986 where after almost two-decades of authoritarian rule, Ferdinad Marcos was forced to resign his post with almost no bloodshed.
Almost two million people camped in EDSA protecting then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Armed Forces Vice Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos who were holed out in Camp Crame and Camp Aguinaldo. It took less than 4 days but eventually, the people won.
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Maybe it’s the heat and the dust that drives us to run for the nearest mall. Or maybe shopping is in our Filipino genetics as we don’t even need to hear the word “Sale!” to flock to the city malls! Perhaps it’s the humongous selection of activities we can choose from while malling in Manila — the countless eateries, a menagerie of shops that range from super cheap to super expensive, the many sites for people-watching, the play areas for our many kids… Manila malling is fun.
It’s no wonder then that of the Top 10 malls in the world, 3 are found right here in Manila. SM Mall of Asia is the 3rd biggest mall in the world. SM Megamall is the 5th biggest mall in the world. And last but not the least, SM City North Edsa is the 9th biggest mall in the world. All that combined makes for 10 million square feet of malling.
Wow.
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Lea Salonga, Leo Valdes, Monique Wilson, Pinky Amador, Jake Macapagal, Robert Sena. What do these people have in common? They’re all cast members of the multi-awarded musical, “Miss Saigon”, and they’re all Filipinos. That is one of the gifts that we, as a country, was able to give to the world. We are talented, musically inclined and we are all performers. These people are extraordinary. Lea Salonga, a Tony and Lawrence Olivier Awardee (did I get the spelling right?). A Tony is like the Oscars of Broadway.
And don’t forget Freddie Aguilar, who composed “Anak”. This song has been recorded and translated to 55 languages with 6 million albums/copies sold (I hope I got the figures correct). Also, how many times do you travel abroad and you find a Filipino singer/performer in hotels and bar lounges? So many, I remember meeting a Filipino lounge singer in Bangkok and the audience were awestruck when she sang a Lani Misalucha Song.
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We may be poor but we never go hungry. The streets of Manila is filled with vendors selling all kinds of street food: a wide variety of meats and eggs; nuts, chips and pork rind; there’s even different kinds of fruits!
If you want something grilled, there’s the common barbecue (both chicken and pork), then there’s out of the ordinary: pig’s blood (betamax), chicken heads (helmet), chicken feet (adidas) and of course the infamous chicken or pig intestines (isaw).
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Manila’s “voice” is in reference not to the Manilenyo’s incredible talent for singing, not in this post at least. Instead let’s consider what the world has been given by our people: the rapidly growing industry of call centers.
As I had rationalized to fellow MBM authors, the call center may be, to us, a double-edged sword. Many people disapprove of the trend because night shifts are harmful to the health, because employees don’t do anything but answer phone calls, because there can’t possibly be any dynamic career growth, and so on. But there’s no denying how reassuringly our voice has served the rest of the world. There’s no doubt as to what our workforce has meant to countries outsourcing their business processes here.
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Okay, so buying the regular size may be cheaper, but you have to admit, buying in small quantities is a pretty convenient
Given the income of the majority of the people living in the Philippines, many prefer to buy these small packets of shampoo, soap, ketchup, cheese, sandwich spread, and heck, even shoe polish because 1) they only have enough money for a sachet and 2) they only need that much.
Cost difference aside, buying tingi-tingi is good because::
1) You can try out a new product without having to buy a big pack, which you may or may not like
2) You can buy a small amount of ingredient needed for a recipe that you don’t usually use for cooking
3) Refill packs that you can buy instead of buying a new bottle/canister everytime
4) You can buy different variants of the same product to cater to different preferences in the household.
5) When you travel, you can just fill your toiletry kit with sachets of shampoo, soap, facial wash and toothpaste, so you won’t have to bring back half-empty bottles.
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The first of this series of 7 gifts is our National Hero. Jose Rizal was born in Laguna, studied in Manila - Ateneo de manila and UST and from there lived his life as a hero to this country. Rizal may have traveled extensively in Europe, America and through Asia but he called one place home. His work inspired the country to revolt against the Spanish and everything from there is history. Statues commemorating Rizal is at every city hall throughout the country and there’s even one in Germany which is a testament to his bravery and dedication to our country.
Rizal is a product of many cultures, education from here and around the world but when he gave up his life by being shot at Bagumbayan in Manila, Rizal became a hero for us all. This is why as our first gift to the world, we give to you our national hero, Jose Rizal.
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Starting today, we will be featuring seven gifts that we feel Manila has given to the world. This has been an on-going theme throughout the Metblogs network so do watch out for it.
As part of the theme, we are also giving out seven gifts to lucky readers. Simply comment on the gift that we will be featuring for that day and we will randomly pick from the list of comments to find out who wins the prize. Remember to fill in your email address not your phone number.
Among the prizes we’re giving out are P100.00 Starbucks GC, P100.00 Go Nuts Donuts GC, 2 Eastwood Cinema VIP Passes and a P100.00 MPass (Ayala mall cinemas).
The eastwood 4 day sale started yesterday and ends Sunday. If you want to brave the storm for the comfort of the malls you can drop on in.
